Against the Shadow
by Hawelo
Summary: A young and promising trainer, Wes, from the Orre region, and another excepcional teen, Rui, take on an evil organization threatening the whole region. This is my first story and it's a re-telling of Pokémon Colosseum, my favorite of the Gamecube games.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Betrayal?

It was a day like any others in the hideout. The grunts would just run from one place to the other, busy with their work. The chief would just sit in his office with his right hand discussing their plans for the team, but there was a particular grunt that wasn't following his daily journal.

Lost in thoughts outside of the hideout was the youngest, but most skilled member of Team Snagem, Wes. He was a prodigy amongst the other grunts, mainly for his battle skills and his snagging abilities. Well, the team's not called "Snagem" for any reason. They literally snag a lot of trainer's Pokémon for them and always get away with it. Sure to be the most dangerous bunch in the entire Orre region.

Wes was resting his head on the side of a cliff, lost in his mind. He had been troubled by this feeling for a while now. He couldn't help but think he wasn't doing the right thing, working with Team Snagem and all of that. Next to him were his only two, but very loyal Pokémon: Espeon and Umbreon. They both knew something was not right with their trainer and couldn't help but feel for him.

"It's all right, you two. I'm not depressed or anything" said Wes with a comforting look. "It's just that… I can't help but think I could, you know, do something better instead of just doing any job that pays off like this. It's like I'm desperate for money or something..." He really meant those words.

But he couldn't just turn his back on the region's most infamous band of thieves. "If I'm getting out of here, I'm getting out in style" he thought to himself as he walked towards the building. "You two stay here in the vehicle, I won't take long" said Wes as his Pokémon jumped in the seat of his hovering transport. "Just got something to do before I leave".

As Wes entered the semi-tore building that Team Snagem called HQ, he was greeted by Wakin, the chief's right hand. "Hey, Wes, where were you, man? We need you to report to the boss". "Yeah, yeah" answered Wes. "Gimme five minutes to leave some stuff at my room and then I'll head over there, okay?". Wakin nodded in agreement and Wes quickly went to his room in the top floor. He quickly searched through his stuff until he eventually found what he needed: His favorite bandana and of course, the remote bomb he had been holding for such long time and kept hidden from his "work" mates. Just one more thing to pick up before leaving…

As Wes made sure there was no one guarding the room to the Snag Machine, he quickly entered, closed the door behind it and set off the bomb in the wall. He then gestured to the prized possession of Team Snagem, the Snag Machine. Invented by their most intelligent researcher, this machine would alter any Pokéball held by it to capture any Pokémon, even if it belonged to someone else. Wes quickly put it in his left arm.

From a shoulder pad, a smooth wire moved along an armored sleeve and reached a metal glove. It truly made you look badass. "This is it" thought Wes. Time to get this party started!

From outside, Umbreon and Espeon were glancing at the building, wondering what the hell Wes was doing that took him so long. But as they were in the middle of thinking, a loud explosion teared off one side of the building's walls! The smoke suddenly filled the atmosphere around and they saw a faint shadow jump from the building. It was Wes! He started running towards his vehicle with a legion of Snagem grunts pursuing his back.

"Quick, guys, make room!!". Espeon and Umbreon quickly jumped to the side of the seat while Wes climbed in with a quick jump. He then turned off and like a roaring motorbike, he was off.

He quickly turned around the canyon path leading out of the hideout just to notice he was being pursued by the chief's Skarmory! "Dammit, I should've thought of…"

"Espi! Espeon!" shouted Espeon. "Right, I forgot! Espeon, use your Psybeam to knock Skarmory off and Umbreon, use your Confuse Ray if he gets too close!" Both Pokémon quickly took battle positions as their Espeon's ruby started glowing. He then started blasting off one Psybeam after another, trying to knock Skarmory down. She would dodge every one of his attacks, though! And she was also getting closer. Umbreon's turn came in and his forehead's crescent moon started glowing as well, to unleash a blinding ray of light that hit Skarmory directly. Fooled by the confusion, Skarmory started to fly stupidly and lose altitude. Then, Espeon fired another Psybeam at the bird to knock her for good… and it worked! Skarmory couldn't take it and fell to the floor, just as Gonzap, the chief, caught up to it and gave Wes one cursed look with his eyes.

Wes turned around and made a "See ya" smirk that left Gonzap raging behind. He then turned forward and was welcomed by the vast dessert of the region of Orre.

Free at last from Team Snagem, Wes felt a rush of independence flowing through him, knowing he had taken the right choice, and with one more turn, he happily said good-bye to Team Snagem forever… or that's what he thought.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 - Roughnecks Night

"Great, then! That's all you need to do, if you could please come this way, we'll give you your badge and uniform."

"Thanks, but I'd rather… um, never mind. So, where do I go?"

"Follow me"

…

"It's good to meet you, boy. I hope you enjoy working with Team Snagem!"

"Thanks, um, sir. So… when do I start?"  
"Well, right away, of course! Do you have Pokémon of your own?"  
"Well, yeah, but…"

"Great, then! Follow me…"

…

"Great, then. How much I heard those stupid words…". It was getting a bit late and Wes was traversing the Orre desert looking for a place to spend the night. It seems there wouldn't be any sleeping in the wild; he did not have food and just a little money…

Espeon and Umbreon constantly turned from facing the incoming wind to look at the face of their trainer. "What, guys? I'm just thinking… I'm not sure if we should go over there, but… there's no other place to go right now, I guess".

Wes had one place in mind and that was the Outskirt Stand. An old train that had stumbled in the sand that served as a crossroad for those traveling the dessert. While it was just a place to hang around, it was still visited by many ruffians and crooks from Pyrite Town. Wes thought it would it would be a good idea to spend some time there to chill.

As he approached the border of the dessert, he spotted it. It was an orange train, half sunk in the sand with its wheels taken off and used as a fence to decorate the entrance. "Come on, guys." Espeon and Umbreon jumped off the vehicle and followed Wes inside. Rowdy place, even at night.

Loud music was playing and the place was filled with thugs, all drinking beer and making silly jokes. It made Wes feel a little uncomfortable; after all, he was the youngest in the place. "Meh…" he sighed.

The place was dimly lit, aside from a few lights hanging from the ceiling. He quickly spotted a free chair in the bar and took a seat.

"What will it be, boy?". Wes looked up to see an enormous bartender smiling at him, cleaning a glass with a small sponge. "I… guess I'll just have some orange juice. Not really in the mood for drinking". The man laughed a little and gestured to Wes's Pokémon. "Something for them?" he asked. "Um, just some milk. Here, is this enough for the drinks…"

As Wes examined the place while drinking his juice, he noticed a peculiar pair sitting right next to him and couldn't help but overhear them in their conversation. They had just finished eating, it seemed.

"Oooooh, boy, sure been a while without such a fancy meal, eh?" said one of them. "What the hell, Trudly? You call this fancy?" said the other one. Trudly, who was sitting next to Wes, answered "At least it's better than your usual cheap, work meal. Be thankful we got enough money to cover this, Folly". Folly snickered. "Yeah, yeah. Y'know, it's getting late and this place doesn't hold any staying services, so I reckon we should get on the road. Boss ordered to pick up something from Phenac before we head to Pyrite." "Oh, crap, you're right!" said Trudly and quickly stood up. Wes managed to get a glimpse of his face; he was wearing sunglasses ("at night?") and had blonde hair which he couldn't see from the back because he was wearing a very silly hat. Folly, next to him, had some kind of punk hair-do and his hair was slightly dyed orange. "Mh, just some punks, probably".

Wes was silently drinking his juice while several thugs started approaching him, even though they weren't looking to mess with him. Still, they were getting really annoying with "hey that chick from the Phenac Colosseum's reaaaal smokin'" and what not. They really were invading Wes's personal space. "Hey, you monkey brain. Yeah, you" said Wes as he looked at the most talktaive of the bunch. "I'm really trying to figure out what the heck I'm going to do after I leave this place and I get really pissed when people don't let me think".

"He-hey, the kid's got guts! What do you think you're doing messing with us?" answered the roughneck". Wes did not hold back with his reply: "Looking for a fight?" he asked. "What!? YOU should be the one looking for a fight, not me!" the angry man yelled. "That's it, kid, you're starting to piss me off!". Wes just gave him a cold stare and the man, witha confused face, came charging.

"Graaaah!". The ruffian aimed for Wes's face, but he was soon stopped in his track by Wes's palm, holding him back. "Excuse me... did you just say I am the one looking for trouble?" Country music was playing in the background and many faces were on the young man's hand. He had stopped a ruffian's fist with his own palm, without effort! And they were even more amazed when Wes started forcing the man back with his own strength. "Aaaah, ahhhhhh, stop it! STOP IT! said the man as Wes tightly squeezed his hand. "A-aaaah" he and many others fled from the place after Wes's little exhibition. "Mh, that's much better" he whispered before resuming his drink. Espeon and Umbreon did not lift a paw.

After finishing his juice and Espeon and Umbreon were done with their own, Wes headed outside just in time to catch the glimpse of a Pokémon battle in the midst of the night. "Hey, what's going on…?" he muttered.

From one side, there was a rider. His hair was dyed pink, pretty wild, actually. A Linoone was standing next to him and they were both looking at the face of their opponent. Wes recognized him, it was Trudly and Folly, but Trudly was doing the battling. He was using a Loudred and was just issuing an order. "Loudred, use Hyper Voice!". Loudred let a screeching scream let loose that got Wes and the rider to cover his ears and the Pokémon to struggle against it. "Linoone, use your Fury Swipes!" ordered the rider as Linoone charged against the Loudred. "Mega Punch!" shouted Trudly was Loudred made a fist with his hand and managed to get a clean hit on Linoone, which was sent flying right next to his trainer, unconscious. "Linoone!" screamed the rider as he picked Linoone from the ground.

"Don't mess with us, punk" said Trudly as he and Folly were taking off in their own vehicle. "Dammit!" shouted the rider. Wes ran next to him. "Hey, are you alright? What happened?" asked Wes. "Those guys… they've got a hostage" said the rider. "What do you mean, a hostage!?" shouted Wes. "In their floating truck… did you notice the huge sack? It was wriggling before when I saw it. I immediately took action and tried to stop them, but…" he then gestured to his injured Linoone "they were too much for Ziggy here". Wes watched the kidnappers getting away in the distance and gave a glance to Espeon and Umbreon. "This is it, guys. Time to make things right at last".

"Wait, you're not serious, right?" said the man. "They're too strong and even if you catch them, what will you do with them?"

"I dunno! But I know it's the right thing to do! Come on, guys. Let's go!" Espeon and Umbreon quickly jumped in Wes's vehicle, followed by him.

"I know… they were going to Phenac city. I overheard them" said the rider. "Thanks. I'll get going now. What's your name, again?"

"Wily. Just Wily will do. Good luck, man" said Wily as he gave Wes a handshake.

"Thanks", said Wes and then he was off for the desert oasis, Phenac city.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 – Crystal Eyes

Phenac city was built around a desert oasis, in the middle of high stone walls surrounding it. It was pretty big and a pretty popular stop for those traveling the desert. There was no "parking" rather than the sand, so Wes had to go inside. As he approached the gates, a guard popped out of a small hole in the wall.

"Yes? What is your business here?"

"Um, did two guys pass by a moment ago?"

"Yeah, they said they had business with the mayor, so I let them in after getting his approval."

"Please! I have to get in!"

"I'm afraid I can't. It's late and…" but suddenly he was interrupted by the sound of the gates opening. And then Wes saw who was on the other side of the opened gates. It was Trudly and Folly!

"Hey, you! I know you have someone kidnapped and I'm not letting you pass!". Well, he literally couldn't. One of the vehicles would have to retreat to let the other pass and Wes was not going to be the one doing that.

"Espeon!". Espeon quickly jumped on the front of the vehicle and fired a Psybeam barrage at Trudly and Folly. The Psybeams started heating up the engine so Trudly, who was driving, quickly retreated into the city again, followed by Wes. Then, as they entered the main plaza, Wes jumped down off the vehicle with Espeon and Umbreon and faced the crooks.

"Heh, you sure like to put a fight, don't you, kid? Hey… weren't you at the Outskirt Stand? How did you know we're kidnappers!?"

"Ffffff---- Trudly! Don't go shouting stuff like that in the open!". "Hey! Aren't you Team Snagem's…"

By now, a good amount of citizens had gathered around the group, watching carefully. Wes looked at Trudly's truck and noticed the squirming bag. "It's true! You DO have someone there, don't cha'!? I can't forgive you!" he said as he started running towards Trudly and landing a clean hit on his face.

"Gah!" Trudly backed off and Folly knocked Wes to the ground with a body tackle. Wes fell down and just as Folly was about to kick him, a strong pulse knocked him off his feet. Wes turned around to see Espeon and Umbreon, who had used his Dark Pulse attack, running towards him. He stood up quickly and "Umbreon, use your Confuse Ray!" he ordered Umbreon to knock the crooks down.

Trudly and Folly were piled in the ground, one of top of each other. They didn't have time to take out their Pokémon to defend themselves, granting Wes an easy win. Wes quickly headed towards the truck as the police took Trudly and Folly with them. "You, help me!" he ordered a late-night jogger. The guy came towards him and helped him get the sack off the truck and gently put it in the ground.

Then, Wes proceeded to undo the knot on the sack's mouth. It was really hard and really well made, but in the end they managed to remove it and finally opened the sack's mouth. Wes quickly removed the sack off whoever was on the inside and let out a small "gasp" as he realized that the person who was inside was a girl, probably his age, if not a bit younger.

Her red, spiky pigtails got his attention before the rest of her body. She was wearing a purple shirt and a blue jacket, along with a short soft-pink skirt. She was knocked out, but breathing softly. "She fainted…" said Wes as he picked up the girl gently with his arms. "Is there a clinic around?". "Yeah, there's one around the corner over there. Take her there, quick. She needs the attention". Wes nodded and started running towards the clinic along the jogger, Espeon and Umbreon.

The nurse in charge quickly bossed around and some people brought a bed for the girl. "Thanks", said Wes as he walked next to the people and into one of the rooms. After checking her pulse, pressure and other medical stuff Wes did not know about, they gave him an OK. She was just tired, probably because of the lack of air. They left Wes and the jogger in the room. "Hey, man, take care of her… I gotta return". "All right, thanks for everything" answered Wes as the guy ran out of the room.

Wes was there, with an unconscious girl, alone in a room. Wes sat next to her, waiting for her to wake up. Suddenly, she started moving a bit and after rubbing her eyes, she stared at Wes, taking out a small blush from him. Wes had missed a very important detail while checking the girl: her eyes were a glittery, crystal blue and he'd be dammed if those weren't the prettiest eyes he had ever laid his own on.

"Unnngh…" muttered the girl, quickly snapping Wes back to reality. "Uhh! Are… are you okay?" he asked. "W-who are you…?" asked the girl, staring at Wes. "I'm Wes… what's your name?"

"My name's Rui", the girl responded. That'd be a name Wes could not afford to forget, nor would he in a near future. "Um… who are you again and… where am I?". "Oh! Um, some guys had you in a sack so I thought I'd try to, you know, save you". "Oh, my god!!" shouted Rui, making Wes jump back. "Now I remember! They abducted me in Pyrite town because I saw—"she stopped there. She faced Wes again. "Did they use any peculiar Pokémon?". "Peculiar… I can't really say so. He had a strong Loudred, but that's the only one I saw.

"Oh, then it's okay. I… I have to talk to someone. Do you know where the mayor's place is?". "Um, no, but I'm sure if you were to ask around, you'd get directed there. "Oh, um, I was actually hoping you'd get to escort me for a while… I'd feel more protected that way and more of them may still be around…"

Well, what could go wrong? "Sure… all right, I guess" said Wes as Rui smiled a little. "Good, then!" She jumped out of bed, as if nothing had happened to her. "Wow, you sure recover fast".

Rui screamed as she noticed Espeon and Umbreon's presence and immediately went towards them. "Ah! I LOVE THE EEVEE EVOLUTIONS! THEY'RE SO CUTE!" she blared as she gave Umbreon and Espeon a big hug. "Um, I'm not sure if they'll like--" Wes was cut off, surprised by the reaction. Espeon and Umbreon, who were fond only of him, quickly got used to Rui and were actually enjoying the hug.

"This'll be a long night…" he sighed as he raised one of his hands to clean some sweat from his forehead.


End file.
